Jungle Universe (Discontinued & Up for Adoption)
by Halo20601 AKA MasterCheifMan
Summary: Based on the ideas of CoyotePrime1100. The Jungle Book story adapted with elements of Tarzan and the characters of Steven Universe. (Discontinued & Up for Adoption.)
1. Chapter 1

_**For and based on the ideas by CoyotePrime1100. I hope you enjoy.**_

* * *

Deep within a jungle near Seoni; a young adult, female Gray Wolf with a slightly older Black Panther of the same sex, were both walking through the wilderness together.

The Gray Wolf was Pink, the youngest sibling of the leaders of the Heera (Diamond) Wolf Pack. She was an average sized female, nearly indiscernible from any other Gray Wolf; but her most stand out features were her fur and her eyes. Pink's coat contained highlights of the same color as her name, and her eyes were a similar color as well with diamond shaped pupils; a genetically passed down feature of Heera's leaders. "It's not fair, Garnet," Pink whined to her Panther companion.

Garnet was a slightly larger than a typical Black Panther with heterochromatic eyes that made her stand out from other panthers; her right eye is ruby-red, while her left eye is sapphire-blue. "I'm sorry, Pink." Garnet sincerely said. "I know how much you wanted to be a mother."

For the longest time now, Pink has been pining to have puppies of her own; but no matter how seemingly hard she tries to find a mate, none of the males will take her. "Why am I still treated differently by the others?" Pink complainingly asks as both animals find a place to sit and rest. "The males all constantly tell me I'm too "immature" to breed, and what's worse is that Yellow, Blue, and even White agree with them. I'm a Heera too, and just as important as those three."

Garnet gave Pink a loving purr before staring into the wolf's rhombus-shaped pupils. "I know it's something you don't want to hear; but maybe it is not in your future to be a mother, yet."

"How can you say that?" Pink barked at the panther. "You know it's what I want more than anything."

"Would you mind listening to some friendly advice from an old cat?" Garnet asked of the younger canine.

"Fine," Pink said in a tone that stated she didn't have anything better to do than hear out the wise Black Panther.

"You have grown much now ever since I laid eyes on you as a pup." Garnet began. "And you have grown into a magnificent, strong, smart young she-wolf who still has a lot to offer on her own. I believe Yellow, Blue and White see that as well and want you to live that life before letting the responsibilities of motherhood take it away. You know your family always has your best interests at heart."

"I know, Garnet." Pink knew that her family cared about her more than anything, she wishes that they could understand how much she truly wants to start a family of her own.

"Come, we've trekked too far into the jungle; we should return to the Pack before it gets dark," Garnet told the Gray Wolf as she stood up on her paws.

[Waawaah!]

Pink's ears propped up upon hearing a high pitched, yet faint sounding echo coming from deeper within the tropical forest. "Garnet, did you hear that?" The Gray Wolf asked the Black Panther, who stopped in her tracks and turned to the female canine.

[Waawaah!]

"What is that?" Garnet asked, hearing the noise herself.

"I'll check it out," Pink told as she rushed headfirst into the broad brush of the woodland.

"Pink!" Garnet shouted to the impulsive wolf, who already put a considerable amount of distance between her. Garnet growled under own breath and tailed right behind her quickly sprinting friend.

* * *

[Waawaah!]

Pink continued chasing the noise as it grew louder and more repetitive; showing she was on the right track.

[Waawaah!] [Waawaah!]

The Gray Wolf kept on running until she eventually came across streaming river; where her trail had come to an end.

[Waawaah!] [Waawaah!] [Waawaah!] [Waawaah!]

Pink looked for a way across the body of water but stopped upon identifying something floating down it; it looked like a giant leaf, but not a leaf blade exactly.

[Waawaah!] [Waawaah!] [Waawaah!] [Waawaah!]

Pink finally caught that the sounds were coming from the unusual object; the Gray Wolf looked around a spotted a long, sturdy looking branch. She rushes over to and picks it up with her jaws; hauling it over to as close to the "leaf" as possible and manages to tow it over to her.

Upon further inspection, Pink realized the "leaf" was a carrier like the ones made in the "man-village;" if she remembers correctly, they were called baskets, and had creative designs on them. However, this one looked like it was recently made and wasn't placed in the water not too long ago. The young wolf also caught sight of something on the side of the basket; it was red, dry and smelt like… "Blood," Pink said to herself.

[Waawaah!] [Waawaah!] [Waawaah!] [Waawaah!]

Pink peaked into the basket and took notice of a red cover with man symbols sown upon it; S. T. E. V. E. N; concealing something small, struggling and the source of the noise. The she-wolf removed the cover to discover the creature to be a bare naked man-cub. It was a little creature with dark chestnut hair and black eyes swaddled up in a pink fabric; its skin was also paler compared to that of other men that Pink had seen or had been described to her by the others.

[Waawaah!] [Waawaah!] [Waawaah!] [Waawaah!]

The man-cub cried loudly but stopped upon noticing the peculiar wolf. Pink stuck her snout into the basket; sniffing the man-cub, who places its hand on her nose. The wolf backed away for a moment, before putting her muzzle back into the basket to smell the child once more. The hairless child began laughing with joy at Pink, and the she-wolf found herself chuckling too; she did not know why maybe it's most likely because of the creature's adorable innocence.

"Pink!" Garnet disappointedly shouted to the Gray Wolf. "You cannot just run off like that, do you know what White would do if something happened?"

Pink did not answer and just continued staring at the baby. "Pink, are you even listening to me?" The Black Panther asked.

"Garnet, look," Pink said to the large feline; who stepped closer to see what has seized the young she-wolf's undivided attention.

"A man-cub. What is it doing out here on its own?" Garnet asked herself, only to get her answer upon seeing the dried blood on the basket; before letting out a sympathetic sigh. "Pink, return to your Pack; I'll see to it that he is taken to a nearby "man-village."

"No, let me take him back to the Pack." Pink protested. "He's so small and helpless. I can raise him until he isn't."

"Pink, be reasonable about this." Garnet began. "You can't just…" Garnet paused as she felt something very wrong was coming their way.

"Garnet…" Pink began.

"Pink… Run…" Garnet ordered with a stern tone.

"W…" Pink tried speaking, only to get cut off by a mighty roar from a ginormous, female, Bengal Tiger; who leaped from a nearby brush towards Pink; who pulls herself and the basket away from the enormous tigress in the nick of time.

This was no ordinary tigress; this was Jasper, one of the most vicious Bengal Tigers in the jungle. She was identifiable by her considerably sturdier build, evil amber eyes and sandy-red stripes on her body instead of black ones conventional to ordinary tigers. "You, the she-wolf," Jasper growled at Pink in a ferocious tone. "The man-cub is mine."

"Run! Now!" Garnet ordered the Gray Wolf as they fled back into the jungle with the tigress following being at frighteningly rapid speeds.

[Waawaah!] [Waawaah!] [Waawaah!]

The infant cried from the basket as Pink ran her heart out to put as much distance as she could from the monstrous assailant.

The Gray Wolf and Black Panther leaped over fallen trees only to have Jasper charge through the wood like it was a minor inconvenience; continuing her pursuit after the two smaller animals with murderous intent in her eyes.

Pink then took notices of hardy-looking vines dangling down from a tree in front of them and had an idea. The she-wolf ran ahead of her Black Panther friend to the ground touching vines, with Jasper following from behind just as planned; due to Pink's slimmer figure, she could navigate through the plants with the basket in her jaw with ease.

Since Jasper did not possess this advantage; her body was tangled up in the vines and found herself struggling to escape as Pink and Garnet delved deeper into the brush. Every time she tore through one vine another part of her body would get entangled; this left the tigress trapped, but no one knows for how long. "You can't keep it from me forever!" Jasper roared. "The man-cub will be mine to kill one day!"

* * *

"White!" A male wolf called the pack leader, garnering her attention. White was a massive White Wolf that stood far taller than any of the other wolves in the Heera Pack; much like her daughter Pink, she had the same diamond-shaped pupils. Sitting next to her was her other two daughters; Yellow and Blue, both were Gray Wolves like Pink, but had yellow and blue highlights in their respected coats and had diamond-shaped pupils much like their mother and little sister.

The latter two were watching as Blue's daughter, Amethyst, played with Yellow's and her other pups. Amethyst was smaller than an average Gray Wolf pup and had mauve highlights in her fur that matched with her name.

"What is it whelp?" White asked of her kin in a robust, sophisticated voice.

"Pink and Garnet have returned from the jungle with something that you need to see for yourself." The wolf respectfully responded.

"Grr. What has she done now?" Yellow groused; her voice was like her mothers, but without the sophistication. "She can't go one day without getting into trouble of some sort."

"Calm down, sister," Blue told her sibling; the tone of her voice was opposite Yellow's, sophisticated without robustness. "Maybe it is not as bad as you fear it to be."

"We shall see, my dears." White calmly told. "Here she comes now."

Pink stepped forward, while Garnet waited with the guards as she was not called ahead. The young Gray Wolf still held the basket in her maw as she stepped before her mother with confidence and slight fear.

"What do you have there, daughter?" White asked with curiosity. Pink said nothing at first as she placed the basket before her sisters; where their eyes all laid witness to the sleeping man-cub. "What is a man-cub doing here, where did you find him?"

"I discovered him by the river." Pink explained. "I saved him from Jasper. He was all alone, and I couldn't just abandon him to that thug."

The three older wolves looked up at Pink with concern; they recognized who and how dangerous Jasper is. Though the tiger is no match for someone like White; Pink would be easy prey for the monstrous cat. Blue let out a sigh, having already guessed as to why Pink brought the infant with her. "Pink. It won't be the cub you wish to have."

"I know. But he needs me." Pink protested in a low voice, trying not to wake the sleeping child.

"But...its… it's... Pink look at it. It's a man's cub; he's not of our species." Yellow responded in a harsher tone. "No, absolutely not, you must take it to the man's village."

"Take him to the man's village?" Pink asked her eldest sibling. "But it's a three-week journey, not even someone as fast as Garnet can reach it in time. Without milk, he'll die!"

"Yellow, taking him to the man-village is not our decision," Blue told her slightly older sister. "The laws state that if the jungle wants him..."

"So, I can keep him?" Pink asked Blue with a perkier tone.

"Pink we cannot allow you to put the pack in danger!" Yellow barked.

"He's a child; does he look dangerous to you?" Pink asked. "Or have you just turned yellow-bellied over the years?"

Yellow snarled and barked at her sister for accusing her of such a thing.

[Waawaah!] [Waawaah!] [Waawaah!] [Waawaah!]

"Now look at what you've done," Pink yelled as she got in between the more massive wolf and child.

"Enough Yellow!" White ordered her daughter, showing off her fangs. Yellow growled to herself and fell back into line. "Are you positive the child was alone?"

"Yes." Pink somberly said; as she finally got the baby back to sleep. "I found blood on his basket… human blood. I assume because of Jasper."

"Are you certain of this?" Yellow asked her sibling in a much more composed tone than before.

"Yes," Pink answered. "No one else will be able to care for him."

White let out a small chuckle before looking at her youngest daughter. "You've always wanted to have children. Very well, I'll allow this."

Yellow looked at her mother with disbelief but said nothing; to the Heera Pack, White's word was law. No other wolf, not even her daughters, were above it.

"Thank… thank you kindly, mother." Pink gratefully expressed with tears in her eyes. "I know he'll be a good son and a more magnificent wolf…"

"We said he could stay," Blue told her sister, as she turned and walked away to her resting place.

"But that doesn't make him our kin," Yellow concluded, as she followed behind Blue.

Amethyst walked over to Pink and the baby, sticking her head up to look at the man-cub before turning to her aunt. "So... what kind of name are you going to give him?" The small pup asked.

"I think I'll stick with the name given to him by his parents, in memory of them," Pink told her young nephew while she read the letters on the coverlet. "His name will be, Steven."


	2. Chapter 2

Pink let out a loud, overdrawn yawn as she awoke from her nap. The she-wolf looked to her side and eyes widened with terror as she discovered Steven wasn't lying by her side. "Steven!" The mother wolf screamed with worry; standing up on her feet and searching for her cub. "Steven! Where are you?" Pink asked again in a more panicked tone, turning around as fast as she could; only to jump in surprise upon seeing Steven behind her.

The young boy tried to hide a chuckle from his mother's surprise; it was not his intent to scare her, but he couldn't help but find he reaction somewhat amusing. "I didn't mean to scare you, mother." Steven apologized.

Several years had passed since Pink and Garnet found Steven in the jungle; he was such a helpless little creature that needed the protection of the Heera Pack; now, he has grown into a mischievous little, wolf-boy. Over the years he's made plenty of friends outside of the pack; a blue parakeet named Lapis, who loves flying freely. Conjoined twin monkeys, both named Rutile. Lastly, an annoyingly bright green snake named Peridot.

"Don't scare me like that young one, you nearly gave me a heart attack." Pink playfully scolds her child as she pinned him to the ground and gave him sloppy kissed all over his face; something that he disliked out of embarrassment.

"Mom, stop it… You know those tickle." Steven begged with bursts of laughter in-between. The mother wolf did as her cub wanted and got off him, and for some strange reason; both Steven and Pink can feel Yellow rolling eyes right now.

"Hey there mama's boy." Amethyst teased as she ran up to Steven with a playful look on her face. Steven's cousin-wolf had aged up quite a bit compared to when she first met the young boy; although she was not as big as the likes Pink, she could no longer be considered a pup in size. Throughout Stevens time growing up with the Heera Pack, he has developed a sibling relationship with Blue's daughter; they would do everything one would expect from children: race each other, pull pranks on other wolves; their favorite being Rhodonite who is… jumpy for lack of a more descriptive word; and of course, their all-time favorite… "Dogpile!" Amethyst screamed as she tackled Steven to the ground; with both wolves proceeding to wrestle each other.

"I'm going to beat you this time!" Steven said as he got his arm around Amethysts head.

"Nope. Never, little bro!" Amethyst taunted as she broke from the headlock and pinned the boy to the ground; holding his arm behind his back. "Say, uncle."

"No!" Steven responded.

"Say, uncle," Amethyst said again.

"No!" Steven repeated as he tried to break from the hold.

"Say, uncle," Amethyst said once more as she tightened her grip; much to Steven's discomfort.

"Uncle! Uncle!" Steven cried in playful pain as Amethyst released him.

"I remain undefeated!" Amethyst gloated, self-satisfied with another victory.

"You always train with Yellow's pups." Steven pouted to himself.

"Well, maybe it's for the best." Garnet's voice said as the Panther dropped in on the group. "You've always been more of a feeler than a fighter, little Steven."

"Garnet!" Steven screamed with joy as he ran up and gave the Black Panther a big hug; as far as Steven could remember, Garnet always had been the closest thing he had to a real aunt. Yellow never wants anything to do with man-cub; while Blue is kind to him and treats him like any of the other cubs, he doesn't feel that strong of a familial connection towards her.

"Hello, little Steven." Garnet chuckled as she embraced the hug. "My goodness, how you have grown; I still remember when you were nothing more but a crying little creature in a basket."

"You tell me that all the time when you visit," Steven said with embarrassment.

"But it's true, is it not?" The heterochromatic feline teasingly asked.

"Oh, stop teasing the boy, would you Garnet." Pink humbly requested from her friend. "He's just a little grumpy because he lost at wrestling."

"Mom…" Steven blushed even redder.

"Well, there is no shame in losing," Garnet told the little boy. "As long as you had fun in the end."

"I always have fun with Amethyst," Steven answered.

"Come on Steven, want to go scare Rhodonite again?" Amethyst asked in a hyper tone. "It's always fun to see her jump."

"I was hoping we could go exploring in the jungle today…" Steven suggested; which instantly garnered the unnoticed, horrified attention of both Pink and Garnet; who were both about to protest, until Steven said. "But not too far from the pack, so mom doesn't have to worry."

Garnet and Pink have told Steven to never go too far into the jungle and always to stay close to the pack. They never told him about Jasper and how she tried to kill him as an infant; Pink wants her cub to live a life of feeling safe and secure; not having to continually look over his shoulder for a giant Bengal Tiger for the rest of his life.

"Steven, aren't you forgetting something?" Pink reminded the boy.

"I don't think I am," Steven answered.

"You haven't had your bath yet." Pink stated.

"Mom…" Steven blushed, hoping his mother would've forgotten about that; Pink would give Steven a lick-bath, as she called it, every morning to make sure he was nice and clean. While Steven appreciated them, his still found them embarrassing; especially when Amethyst finds him having one.

"I'll make it quick, dear," Pink told the boy. "I promise."

Amethyst was trying her best not chuckle and further embarrass her cousin; but unfortunately for her, Steven wasn't the only one getting a lick bath today.

"Amethyst!" Blue called her pup. "Time for your bath!"

Amethyst let out a sigh, before turning to Steven; who smiled smugly at her. "Not one word." The mauve wolf lowly growled as she ran to her patiently waiting mother.

* * *

[Slurp.] [Slurp.] [Slurp.] [Slurp.] [Slurp.] [Slurp.] [Slurp.] [Slurp.] [Slurp.] [Slurp.] [Slurp.]

"Mom… I… I… think I'm…. clean now… please… stop… it tickles" Steven begged, giggling in-between his plea. "… please… please stop…"

"There you go, all nice and clean now," Pink told her cub. "Go have fun with Amethyst dear and remember, don't go too far."

"Yes, I know," Steven assured his mother. "Bye, mom."

And with that, Steven was off to find his cousin; who just had her lick-bath concluded and went off to explore as much of the jungle as they would be allowed to.

* * *

"So, what do want to do bro?" Amethyst asked the little boy.

"I don't know." Steven honestly answered. "There is bound to be something fun we can do in the jungle. Like, climb up trees."

"But your better at that than I am," Amethyst told. "Garnet said you have gorilla hands; made for climbing trees and stuff like that."

When Steven was first beginning to learn to walk and talk; two gorillas, both named Topaz, accidentally abducted him; after mistaking him for an infant that got separated from their troop. When they went to grab the boy, they caught him a little too tight, and he passed out; the Topazes realized their mistake the child belonged with the wolves and planned to take him back as soon as he awoke. They apologized for their blunder and made it up to the boy and Pink by teaching Steven how to climb trees and swing from vine to vine; something that Steven had significantly been enjoying during his free time.

"Well, what do you suggest we do?" Steven asked the pup.

Before Amethyst could answer, both wolves caught notice of what sounded like singing; the two of them hide behind a tree and spot a trio of Sarus Cranes singing to themselves as they strutted across the ground. One had feathers as pale as a cloud; she walked and sang boldly. One had feathers as yellow as a banana; she walked and sang in a pompous manner. As for the last one, she had feathers as blue as the sky; she walked and sang in a shy way. Steven mischievously grinned as he looked at the bird then back to Amethyst, then back to the bird again then back to Amethyst again.

"What do you have going through that head of yours?" Amethyst asked Steven.

Steven leaned into to the wolfs ear and whispered his plan to her; which caught her intrigue as well.

"You just read my mind," Amethyst stated with an equally mischievous grin.

"If anyone asks, this was all my idea," Steven told his fellow wolf, excluding her from any blame she might receive; before scampering over to a nearby bush, and slowly sneaked over to the unsuspecting cranes.

"Come on ladies; I think you can do better." The yellow crane berated the others. "Of course, no one can do better than my natural gifts."

"Wow, and here I thought we were going to go the whole day without hearing you talk about your "natural gifts." The white crane mocked, which went over the yellow one's head as she responded with a "Thank you, kindly."

"I… I think P… Pearl was mocking you." The blue crane shyly pointed out to the yellow one.

"Nonsense, she was just admitting to my superior singing voice." The yellow crane responded.

"Yes, I was just admitting to your superior singing voice." The white crane, Pearl, sarcastically responded; once again flying over the yellow cranes ego-filled head.

However, unbeknownst to the bickering birds, two mischievous wolves were sneaking up behind Pearl and saw a more prominent looking feather sticking out from her ruffles; remaining as quiet as he possibly could, Steven reaches out and plucks the feather, making the white bird yelp in pain, startling the yellow and blue cranes as well; who fly off in fear.

Steven and Amethyst, unintentionally, begin to chuckle loudly; alerting the crane to their presence and slight irritation. "Hey!" Pearl shouted, garnering the attention of the pups. "Why would you do that?"

"Uh… we thought it would be funny." Steven tried explaining, while he and Amethyst looked at the bird nervously.

"That wasn't funny, that hurt," Pearl stated. "How would've liked it if someone pulled out a strand of your fur?"

"Oh… I'm sorry… I…" Steven began, only for Amethyst to step forward.

"We thought it would be funny," Amethyst said. "We didn't mean to hurt you.

Pearl looked at the two kids before taking a deep breath and remembering they were just that; kids, who didn't mean anything wrong by what they did. "It's okay," Pearl said in a calmer voice. "Just remember to ask yourselves, "how would I like that if it happened to me?"

"Thank you… for understanding." Steven gratefully said.

"Besides, no one was hurt," Pearl added in; only for her eyes to widen in surprise as she and the wolf pups began to feel the ground rumble; proceeding to run away from a small, panicked herd of rhinoceroses charging towards them. The yellow and blue cranes must've flown right in front of them in their startled state and triggered a stampede.

Pearl flew up into one of the nearby trees while Steven scooped up his cousin with one arm and climbed up crane's chosen tree with the other.

As soon as the small stampeders were at a reasonably safe distance, Steven put Amethyst back on the ground; before he grabbed a vine to follow the Rhinos via swinging, while Amethyst followed on ground and Pearl through flight; as the small herd was charging directly towards the Heera Pack's territory.

* * *

Steven swung, Amethyst ran, and Pearl flew as fast as they all could; following the stampede from a safe distance. The Rhinoceros ran through the Heera Pack's territory while still in their panicked frenzy; but luckily, all the wolves were able to avoid the oncoming charge; the stampede passed through the damaged, but not destroyed resting grounds.

Steven swung to a nearby tree and landed on the ground next to Amethyst, along with Pearl.

"Steven!" "Amethyst!" Pink, Garnet, and Blue screamed with a mixture of terror and relief as they ran to their respective cubs; looking over their bodies to make sure they were unharmed.

"Are you both all right?" Pink asked the young wolves while she and Garnet looked them over. "What happened?"

"Yes, do tell us what happened," Yellow said as she and White went ran over to check on the two pups. Yellow had more concern towards Amethyst than she did Steven, while White was worried about the wellbeings of Pink's and Blue's children.

"Oh… oh… my…" Pearl began to stutter at the presence of White. "I wasn't expected to be greeted by royalty like an Alpha, but I can assure you that they…"

"I was not addressing you." Yellow barked at the crane, before turning to Steven. "I was talking to him."

"It… It was an accident." Steven tried explaining. "I just... I just thought... that... that it would be... funny..." Steven apologized, displaying to the wolves Pearl's feather.

"And our home was trampled because of it." Yellow hostilely said as she advanced on the child; bearing her teeth.

"Yellow, it was an accident." Pink defended. "Steven would never intentionally put us in danger."

"Stop treating him like he's your son." Yellow barked at her youngest sibling; scaring both Steven and Amethyst, who hide behind their mothers.

"He is my son!" Pink barked back.

"He's a man-cub, and the entire jungle would've been better off he had drowned in the river instead of being rescued by a fool of a wolf!" Yellow harshly responded; not only hurting Pink but Steven to with her words, as the latter ran away with tears in his eyes.

"Steven!" Pink called for her crying child.

"My point has been made." Yellow coldly added in.

"That's enough, Yellow!" White barked at her daughter; with terrifying ferociousness in her tone.

"W… why are you defending a man-cub?" Yellow asked her mother.

"I'm not defending a man-cub; I'm defending one of our own," White answered. "Whether you are happy with my decision or not; Steven is a part of this pack, and I will not tolerate any bullying or our young, especially from the likes of you."

Yellow snarled at her mother, before walking away from the group; with Yellow away, Pink ran too her upset son, while Blue, White, Amethyst, Garnet and Pearl watched her.

* * *

Still upset, Steven made his way to a nearby lake and looked at his reflection in the water. He balls his fist and slams it into the pool, trying to destroy the image; only to get mud on his face. The young boy looks at the new reflection and decides to cover himself in more mud, hoping to not look like the man-cub that Yellow loathes with a passion.

"Steven!" Pink called her son, garnering his attention. "Steven, what are you doing?"

"Why does Yellow hate me, mom?" Steven asked with tears in his eyes, causing the mud slowly fell from his skin. "Is it because I'm not a real wolf?"

"Steven, Yellow is… overprotective." Pink said, not knowing if that should even be the right word to describe her sister. "The pack is the most important thing to her and would do anything to protect it; even if she goes about it the wrong way."

"Am I a monster to her?" Steven asked his mother, looking into her eyes.

Pink refused to answer that question; her son was not a monster. "Steven, when you look into the lake, what do you see?" Pink asked.

Steven turned from his mother and looked at his reflection, and answered, "I don't know; what do you see?"

"Well…" Pink began with a faint smile as she walked closer to her cub; sticking her cold nose on everything she listed off. "I see a beautiful young boy; with eyes full of innocence and wonder... soft curly hair... a cute little nose... and of course, a smile that brightens the entire day." The boy laughed at the chilling snout touching his skin; getting a chuckle from Pink as well. "Steven, no matter what Yellow may say or think; I want you never to doubt who you are, whether you're a real wolf or not, that doesn't change the fact that you are my son. And I love you."

"Thank you, mom." Steven tearfully told his mother as he hugged her.

Pink looked up at the sky and noticed it was getting dark; Steven can't be too far from the pack at this time, especially with… her… prowling somewhere out there. "Come now, little one. It's time to head back." Pink told her child.

"Can I ride on your back? please," Steven asked.

"Of course dear," Pink told her son as she laid down low enough for the young boy to climb on. Once Steven got comfortable, Pink stood and trekked back to the Heera Pack.


	3. Side Stories 1

_Authors Note: This chapter takes place in-between the events of Chapter 1 and Chapter 2; focusing on different moments from Steven's life in the jungle. The stories are not told in chronological order._

* * *

 ** _Feeding_**

Pink only had Steven for one week now; following through with her promise to White, Yellow and Blue that she would take responsibility with keeping the man-cub fed and cared for.

When she first started breastfeeding him, it was… a strange sensation. The little, suckling babe would clamp his small lips down her nipples before guzzling down all the milk he could from her; although it grew easier with time, she had her self-doubts at first of whether she would be able to continue raising Steven.

Not to mention that the nights would grow exhausting from time to time, mainly since Steven was very clingy towards his adopted mother; crying more often than any of the other pups in the pack.

She began understanding what the others meant by saying that she was too immature to breed; her mind and body was that of a she-wolf that was not yet ready to be a mother, but her heart was, and she was going follow it; willing to make personal sacrifices to ensure her baby was content.

[Waawaah!] [Waawaah!] [Waawaah!] [Waawaah!]

"Pink." Blue groaned as she pushed her nose at the sleepy wolf.

[Waawaah!] [Waawaah!] [Waawaah!] [Waawaah!]

"I know Blue." Pink began as she sluggishly stood on her feet. "I'll check on him before he wakes up the entire jungle."

[Waawaah!] [Waawaah!] [Waawaah!] [Waawaah!]

"Thank you, dear." Blue gratefully said. "I have Amethyst and Carnelian snuggled next to me; I don't want to disturb them," Blue added in as she looked her mauve furred pup and her crimson furred sister; both of which were sleeping peacefully against the breast of their mother.

[Waawaah!] [Waawaah!] [Waawaah!] [Waawaah!]

Pink looked at the wailing infant and carefully picked him up with her jaws; so as not to break the skin, before taking him outside to find out what is bothering him. "What's wrong, little one?" Pink asked her baby, who continued to cry.

[Waawaah!] [Waawaah!] [Waawaah!] [Waawaah!]

Pink took a wild guess at what the babe wanted; as soon as they were outside, Pink set the man-cub on the ground, before laying on her side; just close enough so Steven could crawl to her. Just as she expected, the child was just hungry as he slowly made his way to her breast and began to drink her milk.

It was still a strange sensation for Pink, but it felt natural at the same time; probably due to the maternal bonding this created between them. At least it wasn't as strange as how most human mothers feed their young; giving the child milk by using baskets made from clay.

Steven continued sucking up as many nutrients as he wished from Pink's breast until he had his fill; letting out a relaxed yawn before falling asleep once more.

Pink carefully picked up the child once more and took him back to the den; where he nuzzled up against the she-wolf's fur and cutely snored.

Pink stayed up for a while longer to watch the child as she slept; it was true, she was not ready for a responsibility like motherhood and has much to learn. However, she wouldn't trade this single moment for the entire world.

* * *

 ** _Lapis Lazuli_**

"Oh, Steven," Pink said to her son, who turned around to greet his mother. She was walking alongside Blue and her daughter, Amethyst.

"Mama!" Steven happily greeted his mother. "Not the mama!" Steven similarly greeted Blue as well.

Ever since Steven began learning how to speak; he always seems to refer to Yellow, Blue or White as, "not the mama." This could probably be due to the young man-cub not spending as much time with his aunts, or grandmother. White had responsibilities to the pack and couldn't afford to see her grandson all the time. Yellow has made it clear that she wants nothing to do with Steven. However, he does see Blue more often, but that's only when she drops Amethyst off to play with Steven.

"Amethyst here wanted to see her cousin today," Blue explained as she let Amethyst run to and playfully tackle her brother-like figure to the ground; much to both of their amusement.

"Now Steven, what do you say to your aunt Blue?" Pink asked her child.

"Thanks not the mama." Steven thanked the blue-furred wolf, before resuming his scuffle with Amethyst.

"Steven." Pink was about to scold the boy.

"It's all right, Pink," Blue assured her little sister. "He'll grow out of it someday. I need to get back to Carnelian, and White wanted me to tell you that she wishes to speak with you."

"I'll go see her," Pink said before turning to back to the playing pups. "You two behave now, we'll be right back."

"Bye, mom. Bye aunt Pink." "Bye, mama. Bye, not the mama." Amethyst and Steven said to the two wolves as they departed. The young wolves tackle each other once more, with their bodies both rolling together; close to the edge of where Heera Pack territory enters the jungle.

Steven and Amethyst continue wrestling until Amethyst gets to upper hand and pins Steven onto the ground. "Say, uncle." Amethyst taunts her cousin.

"Uncle! Uncle!" Steven shouted, admitting defeat.

[Squawk!] "Uncle! Uncle!" [Squawk!]

Steven and Amethyst turned their heads to the noise that sounded precisely like Steven's voice and spotted a blue, female parakeet perched on a lower tree branch.

[Squawk!] "Uncle! Uncle!" [Squawk!]

"Oh, hello." Steven greeted the bird.

"Hello to you too." The parrot responded to the wolf-child.

"Who are you?" Amethyst asked.

"I'm Lapis. Lapis Lazuli." The bird answered. "Who are you."

"I'm Steven." Steven introduced himself. "And this my cousin, Amethyst."

[Squawk!] "My cousin, Amethyst." [Squawk!]

"What was that?" Amethyst asked.

"I'm a parrot," Lapis said. "I can mimic any sound I hear."

"Any sound?" Amethyst curiously asked.

[Squawk!] "Any sound?" [Squawk!]

"Ha-ha. You're funny." Steven chuckled at the bird.

"So, what brings you so close to our pack?" Amethyst asked, knowing an avian like her could be eaten.

"I'm just one of those free birds," Lapis explained. "I fly wherever the wind takes me and enjoy the freedom."

"Sounds like fun," Steven said with stars in his eyes.

"Steven! Amethyst!" Both Pink and Blue called for their pups.

"Well, it looks like your family wants to see you." Lapis pointed out. "So, I'll be going. I hope to see you guys again."

"Bye Lapis," Steven said, waving goodbye to the parakeet who flew away just as the adult wolves arrived.

"Who were you talking to, little one?" Pink asked her child.

"A new friend." Steven plainly answered as he and Amethyst returned with their mothers to the main pack.

* * *

 ** _Topaz and Topaz_**

It began with two gorillas spending time with each other; they were both large, Nagoya Gorillas who shared the same name: Topaz. Despite their intimidating appearance, the two females were gentle giants who just wanted to enjoy carefree lives in their troop.

While strolling through the jungle together, both apes caught notices of a familiarly shaped figure in the distance; it stood on four legs but would sometimes stand on two and was curiously exploring its environment.

"Uh-oh," Topaz said. "It looks like one of our young got separated?"

"Let's get him back home before he hurts himself." The other Topaz said as both gorillas carefully made their way to the "gorilla infant." Topaz quickly picked up the child just as he turned around to reveal he was not a gorilla.

"Oh my, it's a man-cub." Topaz realized as she picked up the child with ease. "What is a man-cub doing so far from a man-village?"

"Wait, I heard that the Heera pack took a man-cub in as one of their own." The other Topaz informed. "It looks like he went exploring and traveled too far."

"Uh-oh," Topaz said again.

"What's wrong?" The other Topaz asked.

"I think I might have picked him up too hard," Topaz stated. "The little one is out cold?"

"Are you…" The other gorilla was about to snap but calmed down and took a deep breath. "First, let's get him off the ground; something as small as him will be easy prey for bigger animals. We'll keep an eye on him until he wakes up while bringing him back to his family."

Both Nagoya Gorillas nodded in agreement as they hurried over to a nearby tree and climbed, with the one holding Steven being extra careful.

Upon reaching a part of the tree that was high enough off the ground for the two of them to grab sturdy vines and swing; the man-cub's consciousness returned. "Topaz, he's awake." Topaz informed the other.

"W… Where am I?" The small child asked. "Who are you?"

"We're sorry." Topaz began. "We mistook you for one of our young ones. We didn't realize you were with the wolves."

"Oh." Steven said to the two gorillas'. "Where are we?"

"We were going to take you back to your pack," Topaz said, suddenly getting an idea of how to make up for their earlier error. "Would you like to learn how to swing?"

"Swing?" Steven confusedly asked. "Wolves don't swing."

"Well, you're not like an average wolf." The other Topaz said, setting the child down on the thick branch. "And it's the least we can do for an apology. So, would you like to learn?"

"Okay," Steven said in an excited tone, he always wondered what swinging felt like; since he's seen other apes use it for travel.

"And don't be afraid, we'll catch you." Both gorillas said with assurance.

"Let's try swinging to a nearby tree." One of the Topazes spoke up; giving the child a demonstration. "Use the weight of your body to make the vine move and grab the nearest one when you are close to it, and that is how you swing," Topaz concluded her demonstration, to the man-cub. "Now you give it a try… um… what's your name?"

"Steven." The boy answered.

"Now you give it a try Steven!" Topaz confidently shouted. "You can do it."

Steven looked at the ground below him; taking in that it would be a long fall. However, he chose to ignore it as he walked back to give himself a running start. Charging forward on all fours, Steven leaped for the nearest vine that he could find and managed to seize it; he was swinging.

"Woo!" Steven excitedly screamed as he grabbed the next vine, and the next one, and the next one; until he finally made it to the other tree. He had a big grin on his face as he cheered to his success. "That was so much fun. I got to show mom!"

"I'm sure she'll be proud of your skill," Topaz said to the boy. "Now let's get you back home."

With that said, Steven and the two Nagoya Gorillas swung from vine to vine alongside each other to the home of the Heera Pack.

* * *

 ** _Peridot_**

Steven and Amethyst stayed close to each other as they and a small group of pups trekked through the jungle; White and Garnet were both giving them all a tour through the vast rainforest as it would soon be their hunting grounds when they come of age. White is one of the most feared animals in the entire jungle; no other predator would dare go near any of the pups while the alpha was present.

Steven and Amethyst tried paying attention, but they would instead explore the jungle without having to hear such a "boring" lecture; they were still kids and wanted to act like so. The only reason they are on this hike, to begin with, is that their mothers wanted them to go; they enjoy seeing their mothers happy and not sad; especially Blue, who could cry a river.

"You know, you should pay attention to what they're saying." A nasally sounding voice stated, making Steven and Amethyst stop in their track. "They know what they're talking about."

"Who said that?" Amethyst asked, trying to act like a fierce predator.

"Down here." The voice said, prompting both wolves to look to the ground; where they spotted a young, female green Bull Snake slithering alongside them. "Hello."

"Um… hi." Steven introduced himself, slightly nervous. His mother had told him about snakes, and while some are peaceful and won't bother you if you don't bother them; some others had very dangerous venom and would bite unsuspecting animals before devouring them. This snake didn't look like any of the latter, but Steven was still cautious.

"I'm Peridot, nice to meet you." The snake introduced herself.

"Wait, as in Lapis' friend?" Amethyst asked.

"The one and only, and you two must be Steven and Amethyst?" Peridot guessed. "Lapis told me about you two, and so when I saw spotted you two, I thought you were the ones she talked about."

"Well, you guessed right." Amethyst confidently said.

"It's nice to meet you Peridot," Steven said.

"I would've introduced myself earlier, but I was entranced with the intellectual lecture from your Alpha, she is a very smart wolf if I say so myself." Peridot summed up.

"Really? Because we are finding it dull with a capital D," Amethyst told the reptile.

"Well, it may sound dull to you," Peridot said. "But she is giving you some useful information that applies to the laws of the jungle, and it would be wise of you to listen. After all, everything out here wants to eat you or is afraid to get eaten by you. You don't know which animals you can hunt, or which ones you shouldn't. Like you should stay away from poisonous snakes; if you eat them, you'll get poisoned too."

"Oh, we know which snakes are poisonous." Amethyst confidently told.

"Oh really, if you saw me from a distance would you be able to tell if I was a poison free Bull Snake or a venomous Viper?" Peridot asked the ever-so-confident pup.

"Um." Amethyst did not answer as she that Peridot was right.

"That's what I thought." Peridot smugly said. "Look, everyone learns differently; maybe the way your Alpha is teaching doesn't work for you? However, luckily for you two, friends of Lapis are friends of mine."

"What are you saying?" Steven asked.

"If either of you have any questions about the jungle, you can ask me, and I'll help you understand it." Peridot summed up. "I'll make a little home by your packs territory, just far enough so I don't scare the other pups; but you'll have my outstanding intellect to aid you."

"That sounds nice, Peridot." Steven thanked.

"Okay! continue your tour with your Alpha, and her panther friend," Peridot said. "Just come and find me when you're ready to learn."

Steven and Amethyst nodded to the Bull Snake, before running ahead of her to meet with the rest of the traveling pack.

* * *

 ** _Rutile_**

Steven was swinging home from one of Peridot's tutoring sessions; Steven and Amethyst had told Pink, Blue, Garnet and the other wolves about lectures from Peridot. While the pup's mothers didn't approve of their children being taught by a snake, they eventually came around to it after finally meeting her; as well as seeing how much knowledge Steven and Amethyst have gained about the jungle. Plus, the young wolves liked her as well.

While he was swinging from vine to vine, free of any care; he suddenly felt a hard force hit his chest, causing him to lose his grip as he hit the ground hard. Nothing was broken, luckily, but the impact was still painful.

Steven groaned in pain as he weakly stood onto his feet; after looking up, he spotted his attacker or attackers to be precise. Four Northern Pig-tailed Macaque Monkeys, all of which who were looking to pick a fight with the young boy. "Get out of our jungle man-cub!" One of the monkeys screamed in a high-pitched voice. "You don't belong here!"

"Why are you hurting me?" Steven naively asked. "I was just on my way home."

"The jungle is not your home! Leave!" The monkey screamed once more, with his companions joining him as they leaped down from their vines onto the ground and charged towards Steven.

"You don't belong here!" The monkey's all screamed in separate unison as they proceed to beat Steven with their fists. Refusing to fight back, Steven instead used his arms to protect as much of his face and body as he could from the brutish animals; who continued their ruthless assault. As Steven continued to try and defend himself; he was silently praying for someone, anyone to help him.

[Thwack!] [Thwack!] [Thwack!] [Thwack!]

The monkey's stopped their attack as they cried in pain; Steven looked up from his arm shield and saw they were all struck in the head with small stones.

[Thwack!] [Thwack!] [Thwack!] [Thwack!]

"Get away from him!" A young, feminine voice shouted. Steven turned to the source of the sound and saw what looked like two Northern Pig-tailed Macaque's throwing rocks at the others from a nearby tree. "Go on! Get out of here!"

[Thwack!] [Thwack!] [Thwack!] [Thwack!]

The brigand monkey's continued to cry in pain as they ran away in fear from the young wolfs saviors; who climbed down from the tree to check on the boy.

"Are you all right?" One of the friendly monkey's asked, offering a hand. Steven looked up at his saviors and discovered that they were both the same person; two conjoined, crimson furred, bodies on one pair of legs. "Are you all right?"

Steven then realized he was unintentionally staring at the conjoined twins in a manner that would've come off as rude. "Y… yes, I'm fine." Steven assured, taking the hand of his helpers.

"We're sorry for what happened." The left body apologized.

"They don't like things that are different." The right body explained.

"Um… who are you guys?" Steven asked, wanting the name of the people who came to his aid.

"Our names are Rutile." Both bodies answered simultaneously.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Steven." The young wolf introduced. "Why were they attacking me in the first place, was it because I'm a man-cub?"

"No, they just don't like anything that's different." The left body explained. "They've given us trouble, too." Right further explained. "We were born this way and was labeled as an abomination." Left continued. "Our mother and we were kicked out of our tribe because of it." Right concluded.

"I'm sorry to hear that. I know how it is to be treated differently." Steven sympathetically said, subtlety alluding to his relationship with Yellow.

"But we've learned there is nothing wrong with being different." The left body said. "What others think of you is not important." The right body added in. "You are perfect the way you are, and you should be happy." The twins simultaneously concluded.

Steven smiled at the monkeys; they were kind and wise words that he'll be holding onto. "I need to get back to my mother; maybe I can see you two again?" Steven told the twins.

"Of course, we'll be around this part of the jungle if you want to talk." The twins both assured.

"Goodbye then." Steven happily said to his new friends, before running to and climbing the nearest tree he could find. After getting a running start, Steven leaped for the closest vine and continued to swing his way home.

* * *

 ** _Bismuth  
_**  
"It is nice to see how well you have settled in with the jungle, Steven." Garnet compliments the young boy as he, Pink and the Black Panther stroll through the jungle together.

"Thank you, Garnet," Steven said to his aunt-like figure.

The heterochromatic feline then turned her attention to Pink. "I will admit, I was skeptical about letting a man-cub be raised in the jungle; you have raised him to be a fine wolf."

"Thank you, Garnet." Pink gratefully said. "Though, it wasn't as easy as I was expecting it to be; every moment I've spent with Steven has been some of the best in my life."

"Motherhood is never an easy task," Garnet assured. "Especially for someone of your age, but you held yourself well."

While the two adults talked, Steven's ears detected a strange sound that was coming from behind a thick layer of bushes; naturally, being the curious type, he decided to investigate. Pushing through the large bushes on his own, Steven eventually found himself standing in front of a significant stream; where a giant, silver-furred, sloth bear was fishing for her meal.

With each slap of the water, the massive beast was able to impale several fish on her massive claws at a time; as well as chomp them all down at once. Steven wanted to get a closer look at the extraordinary creature and inched forward from his current spot; but unintentionally stepped on a stick, alerting the bear to his presence.

The beast angrily looked at Steven, like it knew him or something, and let out an earthshaking roar as she charged towards the boy with bloodlust in her eyes. Not knowing what to do, Steven began climbing the nearest tree he could find; letting out a brief, yet loud screams as he climbed the tree for his life.

The bear began clawing at the tree to get to Steven, as he climbed higher and higher to safety.

[GRRRAAUGHH!]

A recognizable roar caught Steven's attention as he saw Garnet leap from the bushes and push the Sloth Bear on to the ground; quickly getting up and unflinchingly staring down the larger predator.

"Steven!" Pink screamed as she ran to her child. "Steven, are you okay? Did she hurt you?"

"Wait, you know this man?" The bear asked the wolf, confusingly.

"He is my son; you brute." Pink insultingly responded, showing her teeth.

Steven climbed down and placed his hand on Pink's body. "It was my fault mom; I startled her by accident."

"No, no." The bear began, in a calmer tone. "It was my fault. I saw a man and attacked him because I thought he was going to attack me."

"Why would you think I would attack you? Steven asked, stepping closer to the bear; much to Pink's discomfort.

"Steven, no…" Pink tried pulling him back, but Steven stuck out his hand; telling her it would be okay.

"I don't have the best relationship with humans." The bear said with sorrow in her tone. Steven had heard man have done horrible things to many of the inhabitants of the jungle; he quickly realized she was one of those inhabitants.

"Well, I'm more of a wolf than a man." Steven optimistically explained. "What's your name?"

"Bismuth." The giant beast introduced herself, suddenly developing a feeling of trust towards the man-cub; something that Pink and Garnet have told him on multiple occasions that he has that effect on the animals.

"I'm Steven." The young boy introduces himself, gently placing his hand on the bear's shoulder; which she accepts.

Garnet and Pink watched the two mammals closely, making sure nothing was going to happen to the child; but were able to ease themselves a bit upon seeing Bismuth's friendlier attitude towards Steven.

The Sloth Bear then turned back to the stream and slammed her paw into the water; catching a large fish and bringing it to Steven. "I hope this shows how sorry I am." Bismuth sincerely said.

Steven smiles at Bismuth and kindly takes the fish from her before biting into it. "Thank you." The young wolf said with a mouthful of food.

Pink and Garnet were able to fully relax now they know Bismuth won't harm the boy. Steven is indeed a unique creature, being able to make friends with many animals; even those who hated man. He is truly unlike anything the jungle has ever seen.

* * *

 _To CoyotePrime1100: I hope you enjoyed this chapter._


	4. Side Stories 2

Authors Note: This chapter is more stories focusing on different moments of Steven's life in the jungle; taking place after Chapter 2 but before Chapter 3. The following stories are not told in chronological order.

* * *

 ** _A Cold Night_**

This night tonight was far harsher than usual; there was a chill in the air that made little Steven shiver, despite it being the warm season of summer. The young wolf decided to travel further away from the Pack's territory than ever before in his life; swinging from vine to vine to move around as quickly as possible. He armed himself with a small spear, which was more like a knife, made from an old, yet sturdy branch, and had it slung around his back by some old vines. He knew it wasn't common for wolves to use tools; but while the boy had certain advantages over other animals, he also had disadvantages. Having been a wolf for well more than several years now, Steven noticed those significant difference that separated him from his cousins and other animals; one of the major ones being that the boy lacked fur to keep him warm at night.

Steven knew he had to do something to survive; Bismuth told him that he couldn't always rely on his mother for food and comfort; despite the misunderstanding that their first meeting was, the Sloth Bear eventually became a guardian and teacher to the man-cub. One time, Bismuth tried to teach Steven how to hunt by going after a small rabbit; it was hard for the boy, who had a heart of gold, to take the life of a smaller, helpless creature. However, whenever Steven complained, Bismuth would lightly smack him on the head and remind him how the law of the jungle works. After some very much needed tough love, Steven found it in himself to follow the jungle's law to survive; having his first ever meal that Pink had not caught in advance.

Tonight, was a night that Steven would have to hunt or die, he had heard stories from other animals that man was usually garbed in materials made from the fur of those they've killed. Steven found that concept to be barbaric, but he understood what drove them to those lengths; he was even experiencing it firsthand right now.

Steven continued to swing from vine to vine as the cold air nipped at his bare skin, he stopped and rubbed his hands up and down on his arms to build up a little bit of heat; it wasn't enough, but it felt comfortable for now. While he attempted to keep warm, he looked around to see if there was something he can hunt; eventually spotting something below. He thought it was a cheetah at first, but this animal had hooves and antlers; it was a nice-looking, mature sized, male Chital Deer, or Spotted Deer, as Steven liked to refer to them as. It looked like he was separated from his herd; hopefully, this would make things easier. Steven landed on a branch of a tree close to his prey; removing his make-shift sling and gripped his spear with both hands. Steven slowly skulked to the still unaware animal, who continued to munch on his grass; Steven took some deep breaths in and out, as he focused on his prey; then without further hesitation, he dropped down from the branch spear first and impaled the deer through the neck.

This is the part Steven hated the most; hear his prey cry in pain as its life slowly slipped away, Steven wished he never has to do something like this but as he has been told before, time and time again; this is the law of the jungle, and nothing can change that. The deer eventually died from his injury, and Steven let out a quiet, sad whimper as he pulled his weapon out of the dead animal. The cold air was becoming harsher now, and he needed to work fast on performing his second least favorite part of hunting; skinning the prey.

Steven took a deep breath in and exhaled as he got to work on skinning the deer; since he was in a rush to get out of the cold, his work was sloppy but still useful. It took half an agonizing hour; but Steven eventually skinned the poor thing and threw his warm, bloody fur onto his body. Steven knew he had to do more with the skin to make it more like what the ones from the man-village wear; but for now, the cold did not bother him anymore. This fake pelt will benefit him now and for all the cold nights to come as he climbed the tree and resumed swinging back to the Heera Pack.

* * *

 ** _A Pink Lion?_**

"What is that?" Steven asked himself as he slowly walked towards a large wooden structure that was vibrant with color; it looked like a den of some sort, but no shelter that he has ever seen before. As Steven skulked closer to get a better look; he noticed what appeared to be carvings of different animals on it: lions, zebras, elephants, and many others. The front of the den was also odd, it had a dozen pillars that appeared to be made of stone, but it felt colder than stone, and every time Steven flicked it with his finger; they would make a ringing sound.

[Crisk!]

A sharp sound caught the man-cubs attention as he ran behind a tree for cover; Steven took out his spear, being careful not to get it caught on his deer-skin loincloth like he did when he first started wearing it. Steven hears a soft growl and peers over the edge of the tree; spotting the shadow of a large animal; which was slowly walking towards him. Steven decided to climb up the tree as fast as he could; hoping to get the drop on his "attacker" before he could get the drop on him. Steven takes a peek at the animal again, as he slowly steps out of the shadows to reveal himself to be a… pink furred, male lion. While it wasn't as intimidating as Steven expected it to be, he still did not let his guard down; leaping from the tree on to the ground and slowly approaching the beast, whom lets out an overdrawn yawn and sleeps right before the boy. Steven was already more confused now than he was before as he stands directly before the lion; his ears twitch at his presence.

Steven assumed that the weird den belonged to this, unusual, beast; both are vibrant in color after all. The lion then opened his eyes, which startled Steven and causing him to raise his spear at the animal; who looked unintimidated. "Who… who are you?" Steven asked the lion, who just remained silent. "Can you understand me?" Steven asked; the large feline responded by nodding his head but didn't say anything. "Can you speak?" Steven asked, with the lion shaking his head "no." "You're not from around here, are you?" Steven asked once more; with the lion nodding. "Is that your home?" Steven asked, pointing at the den; being given the same response as before. "Well, I'm Steven… I'm not from around here either…" Steven admitted in his introduction. "Do you have a name?"

The lion stared at Steven blankly; he probably did have a name but can't tell Steven since he doesn't speak. "How about… Lion… can I call you Lion?" Steven asked the feline, who nodded; Steven wanted to call him Pink, but realized that would've eventually gotten confusing. "Well… welcome to the jungle, Lion." Steven welcomed the beast who just responded by going back to sleep. Steven now knew an animal who was like him, an outsider, and can help him integrate into his new home.

* * *

 ** _Rhodonite_**

"We… We're far from our home. Do… don't you think, Steven?" Rhodonite nervously asked the man-cub. Rhodonite was a fellow wolf of the Heera Pack and one of the most massive wolves Steven has ever seen; rivaling Yellow's size. Rhodonite had dark red fur with an elongated snout, and heterochromatic eyes like Garnet; except hers were black and purple.

However, despite the wolf's intimidating appearance, Rhodonite is far from being brave; she's scared of anything that interferes with her comfort zone, usually getting teased by the others for it. When she first met Steven, she feared the infant; mostly because the red-furred wolf had never seen a man-cub before and didn't like the idea of having him live with the pack; but she accepted it because White allowed him to stay.

For most of Steven's younger years, he and Amethyst made a habit out of scaring the daylights out of her for fun; even though she did not enjoy pranks, she never held it against them since they were just kids. However, as Steven grew up, he began showing the wolf more respect; with them even going on their first hunt together. After all, predators wouldn't go after man-cub that had a "big bad wolf" accompanying him.

"I know mother said not to travel too far." Steven began. "But I can't stay near the pack territory forever; there is still so much of the jungle that I haven't explored yet."

"But Pink won't be happy if you get hurt," Rhodonite stated.

"I know, which is why you're here with me; so, I don't get hurt. You're braver than you like to give yourself credit for." Steven concluded.

"No, I'm not," Rhodonite said. "Everyone else knows that I'm a coward and their right; I freeze in the face of danger."

"Don't listen to what the other wolves say." Steven encouraged. "You're one of the biggest in the group, and you can hunt well too."

"Well, I don't know about… Ahhh!" Rhodonite screamed and stopped as a male Chital Deer ran passed the wolf and man-cub in fear.

"What has him…" Steven began to ask, but is cut-off by a monstrous roar, as the Bengal Tiger herself, Jasper, leaped from behind the bushes to pounce the young man-cub; luckily Steven was able to move out of the way.

"Man never seems to learn their lesson." Jasper intimidatingly said to the boy. "The jungle is not yours!"

Steven readied his spear and looked over to Rhodonite; who was frozen in fear. "Rhodonite! Rhodonite!" Steven shouted her name, unsuccessfully, hoping of getting her attention.

Jasper let out another roar as she charges at Steven, and out of pure instinct, thrusts his spear into tiger's face; gouging out her left eye. Even though she was in pain, the tiger retaliated by clawing Steven's arm. The man-cub cried in pain as he backed away from the beast; who growled at him ferociously. At that moment, Steven learns a valuable lesson about tiger claws; they hurt like hell. Rhodonite then snapped out of her trance at the boys cry and sees that he is in danger. Knowing he's not going to win this fight, Steven proceeded to flee up one of the trees; but his mauled, bleeding arm prevents him from climbing as well as he usually could.

"You're mine now!" Jasper shouted as she prepared to kill the man-cub; only to get pounced by Rhodonite, who sank her teeth into Jasper's side.

The tiger let out a pain-filled growl before clawing at the wolf, making her back up the fearsome feline. Rhodonite let out a sharp howl before charging at Jasper will all her speed, as Jasper did the same. Steven watched as both animals wrestled each other for dominance; Rhodonite sank her fangs into Jasper's body while Jasper clawed at Rhodonite. While both predators were both roughly the same size, Jasper was a far stronger and deadlier beast; this allowed her to overpower the red furred wolf quickly. The orange tiger pinned a struggling Rhodonite on to the ground and bit down on her neck for good measure.

"No!" Steven screamed as Jasper tossed Rhodonite aside and turned her sights back to her original prey. However, before Bengal Tiger could even take two steps near the man-cub, a sharp howl was heard as White, Pink and other members of the pack leaped from the bushes and stood in between Steven and the tiger.

"You are trespassing in our territory Jasper," White told the orange tiger. "Leave now." White may be an old wolf, but she is the largest and fiercest animal in the entire jungle; even Jasper wasn't dumb enough to challenge her, especially since the odds are no longer in her favor.

"This is far from over." Jasper snarled as the Bengal Tiger retreated.

"Steven! Your arm!" Pink screamed with worry as she ran to her son and began licking his wound.

"I'm fine, mom. Rhodonite needs help." Steven said as he ran past the others to the downed wolf; she was breathing but hurt badly. "She saved me; we have to help her!"

"You two, get her on my back," White ordered the other wolves, who did as their Alpha instructed. Pink walked over to Steven and offered to let him ride on her back, but he waited until Rhodonite was safely secured.

Steven looked at the pain-filled, panting wolf as he got on Pink's back; before the group departed to rest of the pack. Steven wouldn't have blamed her if she decided to turn tail and run away, but she didn't. She faced Jasper knowing full well that she could die to save Steven; she must be the bravest wolf… bravest animal Steven has ever had the privilege to meet.

* * *

 _To CoyotePrime1100: I know I said that I might get this done either tonight or tomorrow; but after going over it, there wasn't that much I had to edit. I also know you wanted me to include Fluorite in this chapter, but I think that she would work better in the next one._


	5. Chapter 3

Steven peered over the grass and spotted Jasper drinking from a river; the young boy tightened his grip on his spear with the intention to kill her… not for food or clothing… this... this was payback for what happened one year ago. While Rhodonite survived her injuries and was always told by Pink and White that seeking vengeance is not the way, Steven didn't care; he was going to make sure Jasper paid for what she did.

"Jasper!" Steven screamed as he leaped from his hiding spot to impale the, now aware, tiger through the throat. However, the massive beast moved out of the way in time and stared down her adversary.

"Hm." Jasper hummed. "You must be quite the hunter to come all the way to see me, yes. What is it you want?"

"Jasper, I've come to bring this to an end," Steven stated as he readied his spear.

"Wait you're the one who took my eye," Jasper growled in realization; but after sniffing the air, something felt… off. "But no… it's not just that; something about you is far more familiar."

"I was the infant that Pink saved by the river all those years ago," Steven explained.

"He-Hahaha! I thought your scent was familiar." Jasper smugly stated. "You've grown a lot; I was unable to recognize you without being so small, helpless and crying. He-he! You're too far from the pack little one; White won't be here to rescue you this time!"

"I've grown with the pack and the jungle," Steven said. "I'm going to kill you for what you did the Rhodonite."

"Who?" Jasper asked with fake naivety, which pushed Steven's patience to its limits as he charged at the menacing feline.

Jasper leaped back in surprise at the man-cubs agility; he was not the same man-cub she clawed before, he was faster and stronger; it was abnormal… it was like he had the collective strength of ten men. Jasper just thought to herself 'how is this possible; how is he this strong after a single year?'

As for how Steven achieved this remarkable feat strength; ever since he met the Topazes, not only have they taught him how to climb trees and swing from vines; they also took the time to show him an ape style of wrestling. Steven once used these skills to play with Amethyst while younger; beating her on occasion as he improved.

Now, Steven was using what he had learned to kill Jasper; Steven was no longer going to be her prey, this is one predator versus another predator… neither of them was leaving this part of the jungle until one, or the other was dead. "I thought you wanted to kill me? Well, I'm right here!" Steven taunted the one-eyed tiger; beating his chest.

The Bengal Tiger let out a frustrated roar as she pounced the man-cub; who blocked her claws with his spear, before kicking her off him. Jasper and Steven refused to take their eyes, full of murderous intent, off each other.

Jasper isn't going to take that stick in his hands lightly like she did last time; if she doesn't want to lose another eye that is. That's why man is her favorite type of prey; because to her, without their weapons, they are helpless creatures ripe for an easy kill.

Steven let out a cry of anger as he charged the tiger once more and thrusted his spear at her; only for the beast to move out of the way and chomp down on it. The young wolf tried to pry his weapon free, but Jasper wasn't going to relent it; this was something Steven chose not to account for before going forward with his rash decision; Steven may have the strength to beat her, but Jasper has the cunning on how to play dirty.

The tiger rips the spear from Steven's hand and tosses it into the river, before swiping her claw at him; scratching him across from his right shoulder all the way down to the left side of his ribcage and thigh. Steven screamed in pain over his torn flesh; in reaction to his wound, he breaks Jasper's nose with a hard, well-placed kick before she could strike the right side of Steven's ribcage; giving the young wolf enough time to distance himself from the orange beast, who stepped back in pain from her new injury.

Everything began to become blurry as blood leaked from Steven's opened flesh and collapses onto the ground. Jasper recovered from her injury and snarled at the boy as she slowly approached him. "I'm tired of humoring you, man-cub." The tiger angrily said. "Now it's time for you to die by my claws; just like your parent."

Jasper inches towards the man-cub in a terrifying yet taunting manner, as he slipped in and out of consciousness. Then a loud noise, followed by thunderous steps were heard coming from the trees.

[Thum!] [Thum!] [Thum!] [Thum!] [Thum!] [Thum!] [Thum!] [Thum!] [Thum!] [Thum!]

Steven couldn't make out what happened, but it looked as if a giant with tusks slammed Jasper into the river; which proceeded to carry her upstream. The steps then came closer to Steven as everything went black…

* * *

Steven's consciousness began returning and slowly sat up; he looked around and found himself in a part of the jungle he's never seen before, one surrounded by the bones of large creatures… elephants... from the looks of them. The man-cubs wounds did not hurt anymore; instead, they felt… slimy; Steven touched his shoulder, ribcage, and thigh; only discover a green substance on his hands. "Is that… moss?" Steven asked himself.

"I… wouldn't… remove… that… if… I… was… in... your... position." A slow voice informed as Steven looked around for who could've said it; only to hear those thunderous steps again.

[Thum!] [Thum!] [Thum!] [Thum!] [Thum!] [Thum!] [Thum!] [Thum!] [Thum!] [Thum!]

The steps grew closer as Steven eventually spotted their source, and found himself staring in front of a gigantic, old Indian Elephant. However, this one was far bigger than even the biggest ones, with tusks of lengths he has never seen before in his life. "It… may… be… gross, but… it… is… quite… good… with… healing… wounds." The large mammal explained.

"Who… are you?" Steven asked. "And, where am I?"

"I… am… Fluorite." The elephant answered. "And… you… are… in… my… home."

A graveyard full of elephant bones is not something Steven would label as "home"; but he's seen animals live in far stranger places, so who's he to judge.

"I… was… out… gathering… food, when… I… heard… your… cry." Fluorite further stated. "Why… were… you… facing… the… tiger?"

"Because she hurt my friend," Steven stated. "And I wanted to make sure she didn't hurt anyone else I cared about."

Fluorite let out an "hmm" as she continued looking at the boy.

"But why did you save me?" Steven asked. "Most animals don't like Man, even the man-cubs that live with them."

Fluorite lets out a sigh and extends her trunk to the man-cub, offering to help him to his feet; which he excepts. "I… am… familiar… with… man." Fluorite began. "But… not… all… of… them… should… be… treated… like… how… they… are… now. I've… lived… long… enough… to… see… both… their… horrors, and… wonders."

"How… how old are you?" Steven asks out of curiosity.

Fluorite lets out a slow chuckle as she looks into the young wolfs eyes. "It's… funny…" the elephant began. "I've… lived… for… so… long... now, that… even… I… can't… remember. However, I… know… that… my… life… predates… many… of… the… man-villages… and… animals… of… this… vast… jungle. Before… me, who… is… the… oldest… animal… you… know?"

"Well, that would be White; the Alpha of the Heera Pack," Steven answered.

"The… Heera… Pack." Fluorite said, recognizing the name. "I… know… of... them, and… of… White; I… predate… her… grandmother. A… fearsome… she-wolf… she… was."

The gears in Steven's head began turning as he tries guessing the giant mammal's exact age; if she's preceded White's grandmother and many of the man-villages, she must be twice… no, three times older than the average Indian Elephant… she might even be older than that. "But if you've lived long enough to see the bad sides of man, why did you still save me?" Steven asked Fluorite.

"Because… you… are… still… young." Fluorite answered. "You… still… have… time… to… decide… what… kind… of… man… you'll… become. You… going… after… the… tiger… would… have… cut… that… life… short; affecting… everyone… who… cares… about… you."

"But I only went after Jasper to protect them," Steven responded.

"And… even… if… you… killed… Jasper; would… it… still… have… been… worth… it… if… you… died?" Fluorite asked.

Before Steven could respond, he let the elephants words sink in, and realized how selfish he was being. He went off to kill a Bengal Tiger, one of the largest predators in the jungle, only to satisfy his petty revenge; not even caring of how it would affect his friends and family. Pink, Garnet, Amethyst, Bismuth, and everyone else that Steven has grown up with during his life; the young wolf did this to hurt Jasper… however, if he didn't survive, it would just end up hurting those he cares about.

"If… you… wish… to… continue… pursuing… the… tiger, next… time, remember… how… this… choice… will… affect… you… and… those… around… you." Fluorite wisely said to Steven, who understandingly nodded. "Come, I… believe… it… is… time… you… returned… home. Hop… on… my… back; I… shall… take… you… as… far… as… I… can."

Steven carefully climbed up the elephant's sturdy legs; while minding his injuries, eventually situating himself onto her back. "I hope you don't mind me asking; but what do you mean by as far as you can?" The young wolf asked.

"I… choose… not… to… wander… to… far… from… my… domain. And… I'll… always… be… here… if… you… wish… to… see… me… again." Fluorite answered as she slowly trekked across the land to Steven home.

[Thum!] [Thum!] [Thum!] [Thum!] [Thum!] [Thum!] [Thum!] [Thum!] [Thum!] [Thum!]

* * *

Steven was dropped off near the border of the Heera Packs territory, where Bismuth and Garnet found him; who, understandably, scolded the boy for his rash and selfish decision; with the Sloth Bear even smacking him on the back of the head a couple of times.

After being brought back to his mother, Pink proceeded to smother Steven with all her love and kisses; with equal affection being shown to him by Amethyst, as well. However, much to Steven's glee, he was greeted by Rhodonite who was as relieved as the others to see the young wolf in one piece.

Steven told Garnet, Bismuth, and the rest of the wolf pack about meeting Fluorite; a name White, Yellow, and Blue were familiar with. Steven told them about how she saved him from Jasper and gave him this weird moss that is healing his wounds; but while they helped to an extent, the injuries were still far from healed. However, Pink would give him lick baths around the wound to make sure it did not get infected.

After three days of lick baths and rest, the injuries were finally gone; with the only thing remaining being the scars, which now serve as a reminder for Steven to think before he does something that stupid and reckless again.

Jasper is a beast… a monster that cannot be beaten through normal means as a hunter; Steven had to be smarter than her, but right now, he was still an immature child. While Steven may be stronger and far deadlier than the average man… he'll have to prepare himself physically and mentally for tiger… swearing to himself that he will kill Jasper someday. Not today… not tomorrow… not a month or year from now… but someday.

* * *

To CoyotePrime1100: I know you wanted this chapter to have three separate storylines in one; but I felt like the stories you wanted me to add would work better as individual chapters. Anyway, I hope you enjoy what I wrote.


	6. Chapter 4

Steven and the Topazes were swinging through the trees, while Amethyst, Pearl, and Lapis followed them; the two formers were doing so on foot, while the latter flew close to the man-cub. Steven was back to full health since his encounter with Jasper and wanted to use his reinvigorated strength to spend time with his friends.

He always enjoyed the rush of swinging from vine to vine and enjoyed it more when he could have some friendly competition; it's one of the things Steven has been better at than his fellow cubs. However, a race was not the only reason the Topazes were taking him deeper into the jungle; both gorillas claimed they found something, something that the young wolf needed to see for himself.

After several more minutes of swinging passed, all five of the animals stopped once there were no more trees to swing from and found themselves facing a sight they'd never thought they see; an ancient man temple deep within the green. "You wanted me to see this?" Steven asked one of the gorillas.

"Yes." Both Topazes casually answered.

"But it's not the temple we wanted to show you." The Topaz to the right of Steven corrected.

"But what's inside the temple, that is what we want to show you." The Topaz to the left of Steven stated.

"Hey!" Amethyst shouted from below, grabbing the attention of the trio. "What are you all talking about up there, and what is this place anyway?"

"The Topazes says there is something inside the structure that I should see!" Steven answered back.

"I don't think that's a good idea!" Pearl loudly spoke up. "This place doesn't seem all that safe; I mean, look at how old it is, it could collapse right now for all we know!"

"You don't need to worry about his safety!" The Topaz to the right of Steven shouted back.

"We'll make sure nothing bad happens to him!" The Topaz to Steven's left assured.

"You better be sure about that!" Pearl began. "Because if anything happens to him, his mother is going to make us her next meal!"

"Well, not me since I'm her niece!" Amethyst corrected. "But yeah, she will kill Pearl, Lapis and the gorillas if there is so much as a scratch on you!"

"It's okay, Pearl!" Steven assured, hopping down the tree and walking up to the crane. "I trust the Topazes; nothing bad is going to happen, and I'm up for a little adventure."

"Yeah, and I'm up for a little adventure, too." Amethyst barked.

"Come on, it could be fun," Lapis added in as the blue parakeet perched herself on Steven's shoulder. "Don't be a stick in the mud."

"Well… maybe some exploration wouldn't be too bad; it would be a great way for you to learn more about man-villagers." Pearl nervously said. "But please, please do not do anything risky in there, please."

"I promise not to do anything risky in there… within reason" Steven assured the crane; whispering the last part to himself just as the Topazes climb down to join the rest of the group.

"So, are we going in or what?" The left Topaz asked.

"Yep, we're going in," Steven answered with a big, eager grin.

"Then off we go!" Both Topazes exclaimed with enthusiasm; leading the way into the ancient structure lost to the sands of time.

* * *

The inside of the temple was remarkably beautiful; Man may be different from animals, yet they are able to produce something so unique, nothing like it can be found in nature. The walls were covered with natural colored paintings of what looked like a giant pink lady battling against a white woman of equal size; with hundreds of hands reaching towards her as if wishing to receive her praise.

Steven had heard stories from the animals in the jungle that man-villages have a sacred location where they worshiped deities that they believed in… monasteries, he thinks they were called.

"Wow, man-art; truly something worth getting in trouble with our parents over." Lapis sarcastically said as she, Pearl, and Amethyst followed Steven and the Topazes deeper into the structure.

"Is this what you wanted to show me?" Steven asked the two gorillas.

"Yes." The Topaz to the right of Steven answered.

"But not the only thing." The Topaz to the left of Steven added.

"We found something that could help you out during hunts." The Right Topaz said.

"And all of this here… this isn't what you need to see to believe; what we want to show you is something else entirely." The Left Topaz explained as the group continued deeper into the structure. "It should be right here."

Steven and the other animals found themselves staring at two pink metal objects near stone slab; Steven had heard of these too. The long, sharp looking one was known as a sword; it was a straight bladed fang with a red grip that had vines etched into it and connected to a rosebud-shaped decoration at the end. The round shaped item was known as a shield; it had a spiraled pattern that was decorated with light pink rose thorns, and its center symbol is shaped like a rose.

"Amazing." Is all Steven could say, as he reached for two items.

"Be careful, Steven. I heard those man-tools are very sharp." Pearl cautiously warned the young wolf. "Please don't cut yourself."

"I won't, Pearl; I'll be careful," Steven assured as he lifted the sword and shield off the ground with ease; either they were lighter than they appeared, or he was a lot stronger than he looked… probably both. Either way, Steven was able to hold both items and even, carefully, swing them around.

"Do you think Mom would let me keep these?" Steven asked his wolf-sister; setting the weapons onto the ground.

"I don't see why not," Amethyst stated.

"But man-tools aren't usually used by normal wolves." Pearl pointed out.

"Well, I'm not a normal wolf," Steven said. "And I think Mom would let me keep something to defend myself; if I ever run into danger. I'm still a man-cub after all."

"But most importantly, you're my favorite cousin," Amethyst told the boy.

"Aw, thank you, Amethyst." Steven gratefully said, before turning to the Topazes. "You said there was something else that you wanted me to see, right?"

"Oh, that's right." Both gorillas said at the same time.

"Follow us." The Topaz to the right said as both apes led the way to a large boulder; they each started to push at the massive rock, moving it aside to reveal a secret passage underneath.

"We found this a while ago." The Left Topaz stated.

"And like we said earlier; it is something you need to see to believe." The Right Topaz concluded.

"All right, lead the way." Steven said as he and the others followed the ape duo underground.

* * *

The light grew dimmer as the group traveled deeper underground; the room echoing with each footstep taken. Lapis was perched on Steven's shoulder while he, Amethyst and Pearl stayed close to the Topazes. But at the end of the seemingly endless tunnel was a bright light, one that the group continued towards as it grew more brilliant with each step, and eventually found themselves inside of a massive, underground cave.

The source of the light came from the pools around them; a bright shimmering blue that added a unique sense of natural beauty; like something out of a dream, except for the fact that it wasn't.

"Okay wow… just… wow." An awestruck Lapis said as everyone else looked at the display with similar feelings.

Feeling slightly thirsty, Steven and Amethyst ran over to the mystical-looking pool and drank from it. After having his fill, Steven looked around; taking in the beauty when he spotted something strange in the far off distance of the natural interior structure. It could just be an illusion created from the light, but it looked like there was... no that can't be right… but it does look like it. "Guys, look over there." Steven pointed out to the others, who all followed his finger.

Amethyst squinted at what Steven was pointing towards and couldn't believe what she was seeing. "Is that a man-village?" The violet furred wolf asked.

"Don't be ridiculous," Pearl said. "There aren't man-villages underground; that would be impossible."

"But it is a man-village." The Topaz to the left of the group confirmed. "One with dens made of stone."

"And it is what we wanted to show you." The Topaz to the right of the group added in.

"A man village… lost to time." Pearl said. "This is incredibly fascinating; I wonder what kind of civilization used to live here?"

"Well, that's the strange part." Both Topazes admitted at the same time; not knowing how else to explain what was about to come next.

"Look, it's those gorillas." A feminine sounding voice stated as a young woman with tan skin and long blonde hair stepped out of the shadows. She was garbed in worn clothes that included a blue top and long white cloths held together by a brown belt; she also had small, amethyst gemstone earrings that sparkled from the reflection of the water.

"Really? They must seem to like this place." A deeper voice added in as a young man with slightly darker skin and long black hair wearing a variation of the same outfit the woman was wearing stepped out with her. "They also have some friends with them."

Steven, Amethyst, Pearl, and Lapis were genuinely surprised to find two young man-villagers within a place that should be abandoned; from the looks of their youthful faces, the clothes on their backs and build of their bodies; they looked like people from an active man-village. The two strangers walk over to the gorillas; holding odd looking fruits in their hand, nothing Steven nor any of the birds have seen before. The Topazes gratefully and gently take the sweet offering and quickly chomp them down; rubbing their bellies as a gesture for "Thanks for the food."

The two man-villagers then noticed Steven and looked at him with curiosity. "Hello there, little one." The female greeted as she stepped closer to the boy. Amethyst, Pearl, and Lapis were on the defensive; not liking the getting to close to their mutual friend. Steven stuck his hand out, assuring that he'll be all right; before turning back to the woman. "What's your name, little one?" The blonde innocently asked. "My name is Jayten."

"Hi Jayten, I'm Steven." The man-cub introduced himself; only to get a confused reaction from the woman.

"Ste… ven?" The woman questioned.

"Yes, my name is Steven." The boy affirmed, wondering why she looked lost in translation. But it took a moment for Steven to realize that he doesn't know how to speak the language of man-villagers; he's able to understand them like any other mammal, reptile or bird, but that doesn't mean they understand him.

"It's nice to meet you, Steven." The darker skinned man-villager stated. "My name is Wysix. Are you from another village?"

"No," Steven answered. "I live with the wolves; they're my family."

"You… live with wolves?" Wysix questioned, trying to understand what the young one was saying; while looking over at Amethyst.

"Yes," Steven answered while looking at the two villagers with curiosity. "But I would like to know more about this place."

"You wish to know more about this place... our village?" Jayten asked, wanting some clarification from the boy's broken language. "We can show you around if that's what you want."

Steven nodded, a part of him wanted to know how a man-village was able to survive down here for a long time as he, Amethyst, Lapis, Pearl and the Topazes follow the young male and female into the village.

* * *

The entire village was a lot livelier than one would typically expect; considering that they live underground. The elderly males and females were just as energetic as the younger ones as if they were not affected by their age at all. Most of their food came from growing plants; something that would usually seem impossible in this kind of place, yet they made it possible.

No one seemed to mind the animals traveling with three humans; animals, before the Topazes, have probably found this place before. Steven's seen the inner workings of a man-village before but has never been in one; since Pink would tell him it's too dangerous, but this isn't an ordinary man-village with ordinary people.

After passing by multiple stone dens, the group eventually found themselves inside a larger, highly detailed one; where the saw an old man-villager sitting on a slab of stone. The elder quickly got up onto his feet, with the speed of a much younger being and promptly walked over to the group. "Jayten, Wysix." The elder began. "What are you doing with a child and these other animals?"

"Who the heck is this guy?" Amethyst asked Steven.

"I think he might be the Alpha." Steven guessed.

"And he's an old one at that," Lapis added in.

"But doesn't act like it, though," Pearl stated.

"My chieftain, you remember those gorillas that found their way down here?" Jayten asked. "They brought some friends with them, and this little boy here; he's lived in the jungle, with the wolves."

"A boy, living with the wolves?" The "Alpha" asked, having a hard time believing what he was hearing.

"It's true," Steven spoke up. Just like how Jayten and Wysix did, the elderly villager looked at Steven with confusion over his unordinary form of speaking. "I live with the wolves, and my name is Steven."

"A boy, who lives with the wolves." The elder repeated as he begins to chuckle. "I've lived long enough to see many strange things, but this is by far the strangest."

"Since he seems to understand you, can you ask him how a man-village has been down here for so long?" Pearl asked of Steven. "And why all the old seem to act so young?"

"Excuse me," Steven said to the elder. "If you don't mind me asking, I would like to know more about this place and you."

"Oh, you're wondering what a group of villagers is doing down here." The elder surmised. "And why the elders are acting the way they are."

Steven gave the old man a confirming nod.

"Well, you see." The "Alpha" began. "Long before I became a chieftain; my ancestors discovered this source of unnatural water. Those who drank or bathed in it would feel a life-giving effect; making them feel younger and stronger than they were. We have all used the power of the pool to ensure that our civilization survives for generations."

"But wait." Amethyst began. "Steven, you and I drank from the pool, and I don't feel any different; do you?"

Steven shook his head at the violet wolf, before turning back to the elder. "Amethyst and I drank from the pool, but nothing happened to us," Steven explained.

"The both of you are filled with enough youthful energy already." The elder explained. "There isn't much more for you to gain."

"That makes sense to me," Lapis spoke up, before letting out a squawk.

"Now, young one." The elder began. "I trust you with this information since you live in the jungle, but I beg of you not to tell another village about what you saw here, or they'll abuse the power of the pool. Promise us that you will not tell another man or woman about this."

Steven saw the direness in the man face and promisingly nodded to him; knowing how important this water is to him and his people. "Your secret is safe," Steven assured.

"Thank you, young one." The elder gratefully said.

"Come on, Steven." The Topaz to the boys right spoke up.

"I think it's time we get you back to your pack." The Topaz to the left of Steven added in.

"Yeah, I think so too." Steven agreed as he and the other gave the man-villagers one last look before turning around to leave.

"If you ever wish to stay with us, we'll be here!" Jayten shouted to them as she and Wysix waved goodbye. This jungle is home to strange and unexpected things, and Steven has yet to find them all, but he has a long life ahead of him, and a heart that continued yearning for adventure.


	7. Chapter 5

The young village girl, Connie, was happily humming her favorite song to herself; a song her mother all ways sang to her, "My Own Home," as she walked over to the nearby stream with a sturdy, clay jug in her arms. Connie is a young village girl with dark skin and waist-length black puffy hair; she also has a prominent nose with thick eyebrows. She wore a purple dress made of cotton with native designs sewn on, which was held together by a crimson sash; she also had a cute, garnet bindi on the center of her forehead.

Her mother is a woman of medicine, and her father is a brave hunter; Connie usually does whatever her parents instructed her to do, like fetch some fresh water from the steam; but she is secretly taught fencing and has been known as one of the best duelist ever seen by her teachers. While she'd instead be doing that right now; she knew the fresh water needed to be gathered for the crops, medicine, and drinking.

Though, she shouldn't complain too much; at least she has company in the form of the village mongoose that's sleeping on the back of her neck, whom she calls Padparadscha, due to her peach-colored fur. No one knows where Padparadscha came from; she just showed up in the village one day and acted all cheerful and kind to everyone, no one minds her staying, plus she's some friendly company to have around, even if she doesn't talk. Connie continued to hum her song as she reached the stream; kneeling near it and filling the jug up with as much water as it could carry.

[Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!]

[Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!]

[Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!]

[Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!]

[Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!]

Connie quickly shot up onto her feet as soon as she heard what sounded like laughter. The girl thought it was Onion, the villages very own prankster/anarchist just messing with her; but Padparadscha was letting out her screech-like bark, something mongooses do when actual danger is near.

[Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!]

[Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!]

[Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!]

[Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!]

[Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!]

"Who's there?" The village-girl asked; remaining still. She was trying to act intimidating by standing her ground but was terrified of whatever was stalking her.

[Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!]

[Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!]

[Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!]

[Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!]

[Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!]

Five canine-shaped animals with ruby-colored fur slowly emerged from the bushes in front of her; eyeing the girl's every move and licking their chops. Connie knew that these were hyenas, but these were different; hyenas make a habit to stay away from people, yet these hyenas looked at her with hunger in their eyes. Connie and Padparadscha remained still as they searched for every possible route of escape; Connie almost thought of jumping in the stream, but she didn't know where in the jungle it would take her.

[Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!]

[Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!]

[Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!]

[Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!]

[Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!]

Giving in to her fear, Connie made a break for the jungle; running as fast as she could while Padparadscha held onto the girl's hair for dear life as they were both pursued by the hyenas.

[Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!]

[Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!]

[Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!]

[Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!]

[Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!]

* * *

"HELP!" Steven's head popped up as he heard a scream echo through the jungle.

"What's up?" Amethyst asked her cousin.

"I think someone's in trouble. And it's close by." Steven said as he hopped to his feet. "I'll be back, soon!" The young wolf sprinted towards the nearest tree; climbing up its trunk all the way to the nearest high branch he could find.

Once on the branch, he developed a running start; leaping off the edge and clutching the nearest vine, using his weight to swing forward. He grabbed the next vine and swung; while Amethyst followed him from behind on foot. "Wait for me!"

* * *

"Somebody, help!" Connie screamed as she continued sprinting; focusing on everything that was in front of her and tuning out the laughing barks that followed. She leaped over large bushes, made her way past dangling vines and ducked low hanging and broken branches. However, this didn't stop the hyenas' pursuit of her. She's nearly tripped several times as she kept on running without taking a single moment to think about where she was going. The young girl lost her footing and fell face first onto the ground.

[Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!]

One of the larger hyenas, most likely the leader, caught up with the girl and was slowly approaching her with a malicious grin on its hound-like face. Connie backed up and felt her hand bump into something, a long stick from the feel of it. The beast leaped at the girl, but Connie instinctively grabbed the long piece of wood and swung it across the animal's face; disorienting and making it whimper in pain. Connie took this time to hop to her feet and put distance between the animal. She eventually came across a small gorge; under the influence of adrenaline, she thought that she could make it.

Connie ran and ran as fast as she could, and thought she was close enough to jump. However, she didn't build up enough speed nor used enough strength; as she began to feel the sensation of falling. She closed her eyes to await her inevitable end, but found that her body was still "falling." Connie opened her eyes and discovered she was soaring off the ground; she gasped and screamed in surprise for a moment and looked up to see a boy around her age carrying her in one arm as he swung from the vines using the other. The young village girl looks behind her and sees the hyenas have given up their chase; turning around and leaving.

Connie looked down and gasped, as she saw the ground pass by her like she was sprinting; but... not sprinting at the same time. She felt her body bounced as her mysterious savior, or kidnapper swung from the next vine. As they continued swinging from vine to vine; Connie saw the tops of the trees in a completely different way, saw monkeys hanging from the branches, and birds feeding their chicks in nests. Birds and monkeys were a common sight in the jungle, but she'd never seen them the way she is now; she doubts that anyone has seen them like this.

"Woah!" Connie gasped again as she felt an abrupt stop. She looked around and realized that she was sitting on a branch; one that was way off the ground. The girl let out a yip and gulped as she scooted herself all the way to the trunk of the tree.

"You. Safe?" Connie turned her head to the boy who appeared in front of her; seemingly out of nowhere.

The boy had shoulder hair that was messy and curly, going down to his shoulders. His skin was lighter than usual when compared to the people from her village; he must be a foreigner. An old-looking loincloth was the only piece of clothing he had on; the rest of his large, slightly toned body was left exposed. He had vines wrapped around his upper-half; using them to hold… a sword? And a shield? Strange.

"You. Safe?" The boy said again in his broken language; pointing at the girl. "You. Safe?"

"Yes…" Connie nervously said. "I'm safe."

"Good. Good." The boy replied.

[Arf!] [Arf!] [Arf!] [Arf!] [Arf!] [Arf!] [Arf!]

Connie and the mysterious boy turn to the sound; where she sees a purple wolf barking at them from the ground.

"Amethyst." The boy said to the wolf.

[Arf!] [Arf!] [Arf!] [Arf!] [Arf!] [Arf!] [Arf!]

"Me. Good." The boy replied to the animal. "She. Safe. Hyena. Group. Attacking."

[Arf!] [Arf!] [Arf!] [Arf!] [Arf!] [Arf!] [Arf!]

"Me. Sorry. You. Worry." The boy said again; sounding like he was apologizing. Connie groaned to herself with worry; for all she knows, she's stuck in a tree with a crazy, feral boy that talks to wolves.

* * *

"Look, I know you didn't want her to get hurt!" Amethyst loudly began. "But what are you planning to do now? You dragged her deeper into the jungle."

"She was scared and in danger; I couldn't sit by and do nothing!" Steven protested.

"Thank you… for saving us." An innocent sounding voice said as Steven turned to the girl; he then sees a mongoose scurry out of her hair and rush over to the boy.

"Oh, hello," Steven said. "I didn't notice that you were with her."

"I was hiding… so…" The mongoose admitted. "I'm Padparadscha."

"Pad… pa… rad… scha?" Steven said, making sure he was pronouncing the name right.

"Yes." The mongoose said. "But most of the man-villagers call me Paddy."

"Man-villagers?" Steven questioned.

"Oh, I live in the man-village with Connie and her family." Padparadscha innocently explained as he looked back at her man-villager companion. "They're nice."

* * *

[Sqreech!] [Sqreech!] [Sqreech!] [Sqreech!]

"She. Connie?" The boy questioned the mongoose; pointing at Connie.

[Sqreech!] [Sqreech!] [Sqreech!] [Sqreech!]

'So, he doesn't just speak a broken language, but also speaks wolf, and mongoose.' Connie thought to herself as she looked at the strange conversation happening right in front of her. 'Who is this boy?'

"Um, excuse me…" Connie began, catching the boy's attention. "Who… are you?"

"Me. Steven." The boy introduced himself; tapping his chest. "You. Connie." Steven further said, pointing at the girl.

"How do you know my name?" Connie nervously asked.

"Padparadscha. Tell. Steven." Steven began. "Padparadscha. Tell. Steven. You. Connie."

"You… understand her?" Connie asked with intrigue; crawling closer to the wild boy.

"Me. Understand. All. Animals." Steven said. "Me. Understand. Wolf. Me. Understand. Mongoose. Me. Understand. Man-villager."

"Man-villager?" Connie asked.

"You. Connie. Man-villager." Steven said.

"Oh, you mean someone from my village. Correct?" Connie asked again.

"Yes. You. Connie. Man-villager." Steven said.

"And what villager are you from?" Connie asked. "You had to have come from somewhere."

"Me. No. Man-village." Steven said. "Me. Pack. Home. Wolfpack. Home."

[Arf!] [Arf!] [Arf!] [Arf!] [Arf!] [Arf!] [Arf!]

Connie looked down to see the wolf, whom Steven earlier referred to as Amethyst, barking at the tree. "Are you telling me you live with wolves?"

"Me. Man-villager. No. Me. Wolf. Steven. Wolf."

"This… is fascinating. A boy raised by wolves." Connie said; about to say something else but stopped as a thought popped into her head. "Wait, if wolves raised you. Then where did you learn to swing like a gorilla?"

"Topaz. And. Topaz." Steven said. "Topaz. And. Topaz. Gorillas. Topaz. And. Topaz. Train. Steven. Train. Swing."

This doesn't sound like wolves raise him; it's like the entire jungle raised this boy. "This is just amazing." Connie honestly said. "But… if it's not any trouble. Can you take Padparadscha and me back to the man-village, please? My family is probably worried about us. And it's getting late…"

[Sqreech!] [Sqreech!] [Sqreech!] [Sqreech!]

"Not. Now." Steven said to the girl. "Jungle. Night. Dangerous. Journey. Man-village. Dangerous. Now."

Connie has heard stories about how dangerous the jungle is at night; Steven probably knows that better than anyone. And she didn't consider how exhausted he must be from carrying her and her plus one. She might be better off waiting until morning. "Then where am I going to stay?"

* * *

"You can stay with me and the pack," Steven told Connie. "I'm sure Pink will let you."

"I'm sorry, did I just hear that right?" Amethyst shouted from the ground. "You want to take her to the Heera Pack? Aunt Yellow won't be happy about that."

"I know, but where else am I going take her?" Steven asked his cousin.

"Well from where I'm sitting, that tree looks comfy!" Amethyst replied.

"We're not leaving her in the tree!" Steven stated.

"Steven, this is a terrible idea!" Amethyst said.

"I know, but I'm not going to let her freeze up here!" Steven said.

"Uh, fine!" Amethyst replied. "But I'm not getting in trouble over this, okay!"

"I'll take full responsibility for her!" Steven said.

* * *

Steven turned back to Connie. "Me. Know. Place. You. Stay."

"You know somewhere we can stay for the night?" Connie asked the boy for some clarification.

"Steven. Home." Steven said. "You. Come. Steven. Home."

"To your home, with the wolves?" Connie asked again. "Well, I guess it would be better than out here."

Without saying anything else, Steven slung Connie over his shoulder and allowed Padparadscha to climb up his arm to his neck; before he climbed down from the tree to join Amethyst. Whatever happens next, Connie will have one heck of a tale to tell when she returns home.


	8. Chapter 6

Steven landed on the ground with the young girl still slung over his shoulders; before gently putting down at the same time as an exhausted Amethyst runs up to them. "Stay close to me," Steven told the girl, who slowly nodded; understanding the wild child to an extent, while Padparadscha continued to screech joyously. The male man-cub slowly takes the female man-villager to where the rest of the Heera Pack resided; where Pink instantly caught notice of her son.

"Steven! Amethyst!" Pink shouted as she ran to her pup and nephew; looking them in their eye. "It's late, where were you two?"

"It's a long story," Amethyst explained at the same moment Pink notices Connie; becoming more defensive.

"Who are these two?" Pink asked as she showed her teeth and snarled; loud enough to wake Yellow, White, and Blue. Who all rush over to see what's going on.

"Man-villager!" Yellow shouted as she too showed her teeth, and advanced towards the now scared girl.

"Steven!" Connie and Padparadscha screamed as they jumped back.

"Yellow, wait!" Steven said as he rushed to stand in-between the predator and her prey.

"Move aside, welp!" Yellow ordered.

"Enough, Yellow!" The Alpha barked as the aging white wolf stood between her daughter and grandson. "Steven, I want you to explain yourself," White demanded of the boy in a calm, open-minded tone.

"Some hyenas were chasing her," Steven explained. "I couldn't let them kill her."

"Hyenas don't go near man-villages." Yellow factually stated.

"Well, these ones did." Steven honestly said. "I've never lied before, have I?"

"No, you haven't," Blue stated.

"Still, Hyenas don't go near man-villages." Yellow repeated. "They'd be stupid to do so."

"Hyenas aren't that bright." Pink chipped in. "They could've mistaken… what's her name?"

"Connie," Steven answered. "Her name is Connie."

"This Connie for Steven." Pink concluded.

"Well, that doesn't change that she can't stay!" Yellow replied. "She's a man-villager."

"Just like with Steven all those years ago, that isn't your decision to solely make." White scolded.

"But I... I can't just leave her out here... not on her own, she'll die," Steven stated.

White remained silent for a moment before turning to the boy. "Are you fully willing to take responsibility for every action this man-villager takes, pup?"

"Yes." Steven quickly answered.

"Are you positive?" Blue asked. "Everything she does will be on you and you alone."

"I know, and my answer is still the same," Steven replied.

"Very well," White said. "The man-villager and her mongoose companion may stay for the night, but I expect them to be back with their true family by the end of the next day. Do you understand?"

"Yes." Steven quickly said.

"I want you to say it, pup." White repeated in a sterner tone. "Do you understand."

"I understand," Steven replied respectfully as White, Yellow, Blue and Pink all nod and returned to their dens.

"Well, I'm heading to bed," Amethyst told her cousin before running off. "Night."

Steven turned back to a still defensive Connie and slowly approached her. "Hey, it's okay. They'll let you both stay for the night; I won't let anything happen to either you."

Remaining silent for a moment, Connie looked at the feral child. "Alright, I trust you."

"Me too," Padparadscha said.

Steven nodded with a big grin as he led the man-villager to the warmest spot he knows of in all the packs resting grounds.

* * *

It was the crack of dawn when Steven woke up, letting out a big; lazy-sounding yawn. Sleeping next to him, curled up next to Rhodonite in a rather charming manner were Connie and Padparadscha; with the latter laying on the wolfs fur like a soft bedrock. "Connie," Steven said as he pushed at the girl's arm. "Get up."

The man-villagers eyes began to drowsily open as she rubbed them and let out a yawn of her own. "Steven?" She questioned. "It's the break of dawn."

"I know," Steven answered. "But we'll get you home quicker if we move early. Grab Padparadscha, the others are waiting."

"Others?" Connie questioned, but didn't get an answer as Steven helped her to her feet with his abnormal strength. She carefully scooped the mongoose up into her arms as the wild child led her out of the den.

Steven helped her navigate the terrain, where they eventually met up with Garnet the panther, and Pearl the crane. "Connie, these are my friends; Garnet and Pearl." The boy introduced.

"Hello." "Nice to meet you." The feline and bird said at the same time.

"Um… hi." Connie nervously greeted.

"Amethyst brought us up to speed with what is going on, and we would like to offer our assistance," Garnet explained.

"Thanks, you guys." Steven gratefully said.

"Now, we better hurry if we want to get them home," Pearl stated. "Onward, to the man-villager territory!"

* * *

Steven, along with Amethyst, Pearl and Garnet led Connie and her mongoose companion through the jungle back to their home. Along the way, Connie decided to ask Steven some questions. "How long have you lived in the jungle?" She asked.

"For all of my life," Steven answered.

"Do you know who your parents?" Connie asked.

"Pink is my mom," Steven replied.

"No, I meant your villager parents." Connie clarified; but when she thinks about it, his skin matches more of the foreign explorers than anyone for a village she knows of.

"No," Steven answered. "But I don't think I need to know, either."

"Why not?" Connie confusingly asked.

"Pink and Amethyst, and the rest of the pack are my families," Steven explained. "And even though I don't know who my real parents are, I know they loved me enough to save me from Jasper."

"Who's Jasper?" Connie asked.

"A big and mean tiger who hates all man-villagers," Steven explained. "She's tried to kill me multiple times throughout my life; even when I was a baby. That's when Pink found me."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Connie sympathetically said. "It sounds like your life has been difficult."

"On some days, yes," Steven admitted. "But I have a family to get me through them."

The group all stop as soon as they hear a rustling sound from the bushes; startling Connie, making her fall into a mud puddle. Steven protectively stood in front of her. The rustling stops, and the young wolf spots Bismuth walk out from behind them. "Steven?" The large bear questioned.

"Bismuth!" Steven shouted as he ran over to hug the large animal.

"Hey there, little wolf." Bismuth replied as she accepted the hug, but looked up to immediately notice Connie. "Oh no, please tell me Pink didn't adopt another."

"What?" Steven questioned; looking over at Connie then back to the bear. "No, this is Connie. I'm trying to take her back to the man-village."

"What is she even doing out here?" Bismuth questioned.

"She was being attacked by hyenas," Steven explained. "And I save her from them. Now, I want to take her home."

"Well, make sure to get away from the man-village as soon as you can." Bismuth warned. "They aren't to be trusted."

"Why don't you like man-villagers?" Steven asked.

"There are two types of man-villagers." Bismuth explained. "Those who follow the natural order of hunt to survive, and those who break it and hunt for entertainment. I've encountered the latter and have seen their cruelty first hand."

"But what makes you think Connie is one of those man-villagers?" Steven asked.

"I find it better to not take that chance." Bismuth stated. "However, you seem to trust her. For now, at least, I'll give her the benefit of the doubt.

"Thank you," Steven said to his giant friend.

"Um, Steven." The mud-covered Connie spoke up. "I hate to be a bother to you; but could we stop somewhere to bathe. The mud really stinks."

"Not going to disagree with her there." Amethyst immaturely corresponded with.

"Come on, I know of a small lagoon nearby," Steven told the girl as he helps her up. "Pink and Blue used to take me and the other pups there to get clean. Besides, I might need one of my own, too."

* * *

Connie walked over to the lagoon and dipped her toe in, stepping back; the water was cold, but also refreshing at the same time. She was just about to undo her dress but felt embarrassed to do so. She turned around and saw Steven still watching her.

"Um, Steven… could… could you turn around?" Connie asked.

"I promised White that I would keep an eye on you," Steven said.

"I know, but could turn around nonetheless?" The girl asked again.

"Why?" Steven questioned.

"Well, I'm going to bathe," Connie answered.

"Then bathe," Steven replied.

"I'll be naked," Connie stated in a blunt and embarrassed tone.

"I still fail to see the problem," Steven admitted

This is when Connie remembers that Steven has probably never seen another man-villager and wouldn't know of their customs and decencies. "Okay." Connie began. "For my people, it's considered rude to look at their bodies when they are… unclothed. So, I'm asking you, as someone who believes in those customs, to politely turn around until I am in the water."

"But man-villagers aren't any different from apes." Steven pointed out. "Yet, they don't feel shame for being unclothed."

"Well can… can you just turn around please." Connie requested in a more abrasive tone.

"Okay. Just make it quick." Steven responded as he turned around.

"Honestly, what man-villagers label as decent still confuses me," Pearl admitted.

"Thank you." Steven heard Connie say, which was immediately followed by a splash. "Eek! It's cold! Okay, you can turn around now!"

The young wolf turned around to see the man-villager swimming in the water; now, it was his turn. Steven removed his loincloth before running and jumping into the lagoon with a big splash.

"Wait for me!" Amethyst shouted as she joined the two of them; while Garnet, Padparadscha, Bismuth, and Pearl watched.

Connie turned away from the wolf and feral as she continued to bathe; overhearing them howl and laugh as they played. Connie would look back to look at the young wolves with a small, curious smile every so often. She supposed that it doesn't really matter how different they all are; Steven and all his animal friends are a strange, yet wholesome family.


	9. Authors Note: Discontinued - Adoptable

_**Authors note: To all the people who've read this Jungle Universe, I'm sorry to say that, because of personal reason, I'm going to have to discontinue the story. With that being said; if any of you are interested in adopting the story, I will PM you the outline document if you wish to continue or start over from scratch. Thank you Kenny9x3, Lady Shadow92, NancyDrew123, Sonicthehedgewolf, coyoteprime1100, Austin Morgan, NiteOwl118, and Red Ethel Flint for reading.**_


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